Hurricane-force winds and extreme drought conditions fueled the grassland Marshall Fire as it spread rapidly across suburban Boulder County, Colorado neighborhoods in December 2021. Named for its origin near the Marshall Mesa Trailhead and Marshall Road, the fire remains the most destructive in Colorado history, having destroyed more than 1,100 structures, displaced thousands of residents and killed two, and caused more than $2 billion in damage.
Increasingly, wildfires are occurring in or near developed areas, putting more people and communities at risk. As in Lahaina, Hawaii, and Los Angeles, California—sites of recent major fires—the need to better understand and implement wildfire mitigation and remediation continues to grow in urgency.
Community mobilization during the Marshall Fire has been described as heroic. As the ash settled and the immediate recovery efforts were underway, local leaders and residents also faced the longer-term issues that come with rebuilding and strengthening community resilience.
Supporting wildfire recovery and resilience efforts
Two of the municipalities heavily affected by the Marshall Fire, the town of Superior and the city of Louisville, partnered with the Urban Land Institute’s Urban Resilience program, part of the ULI Randall Lewis Center for Sustainability in Real Estate, to address the challenges of wildfire recovery and resilience efforts.
The engagement was organized through the Urban Resilience program’s Resilient Land Use Cohort (RLUC). RLUC is a network of ULI district councils, member experts, and community partners in cities nationwide working together to identify strategies to enhance resilience amid climate change and other environmental vulnerabilities, including floods, extreme storms, drought, wildfire, and extreme heat.
Through cohort-wide convenings, publications that synthesize and distill insights, technical assistance via Advisory Services Panels and Technical Assistance Panels, and support for implementation efforts, the program helps communities become more resilient and address the social, environmental, and economic impacts of extreme weather events. Funding for RLUC was provided by the ULI Foundation, with support from JPMorgan Chase.
Reflecting on their participation in the program, local leaders note how ULI helped bring critical attention and support to recovery and resilience efforts. Lisa Ritchie, Superior’s building and planning director and former Louisville recovery planning manager, says, “We are grateful for the support from ULI following the fire, and I really enjoyed the engagement with so many different practitioners working on hard problems! I learned a lot and am still processing many ideas.” So far, the rebuild process for the two communities has outstripped local expectations and national averages for wildfire recovery timelines.
The March 2023 multiday Advisory Services Panel, convened in partnership with ULI Colorado, provided independent, timely, and candid input from national experts in wildfire resilience, post-disaster community recovery, affordable housing, land use planning, and market and financial analysis for the communities of Superior and Louisville.
The panel report outlined recommendations for recovery and resilience planning, wildland-urban interface (WUI) best practices, preserving and supporting housing affordability and diversity throughout the rebuilding process, and community engagement through tapping into social capital and ensuring equitable representation.
To continue to advance the panel recommendations, RLUC cohort participants were invited to apply for implementation grants. In 2024, Louisville and Superior each won a $10,000 grant. These resources, participation in the cohort, and the targeted Advisory Services Panel recommendations helped the communities chart a path to strengthen their recovery and resilience efforts. Here are their stories.
The city of Louisville
Leveraging the panel recommendations, the city of Louisville created its Recovery and Resilience Division and hired the division’s first manager in 2023. Part of the implementation grant was used to support the division’s staffing for disaster recovery, response, and mitigation, as well as identification, pursuit, and tracking of available and future funding opportunities for recovery and resilience.
The city used the remainder of the implementation grant to develop a Disaster Education Series to bring awareness about disaster preparedness and hazard mitigation to the community. This community-wide engagement strategy involves improving education and information accessibility on wildland-urban interface best practices, resilience, and disaster preparedness for residents and local businesses, and helping to initiate broader conversations about long-term priorities for the community.
As part of the series, the grant was also used to support the distribution of preparedness tools and items such as first aid kits, seatbelt cutters, solar-power battery packs, and a prize package for the Wildfire Ready Giveaway. According to staff, sharing these small preparedness items piqued community interest and engagement. The city’s efforts have led to an increase in the number of residents registered for emergency alerts. Bringing community members together helped enhance feelings of trust and social connection necessary for the recovery process and for initiating broader conversations about long-term priorities.
According to Kiana Freeman, the division’s manager, “We really want to build trust with our residents—especially after the Marshall Fire—for those who were impacted, but also for the rest of the community.” She is most excited about the relationships and collaboration that the department has built, internally and externally, further emphasizing how the “partnership with the community members so far has just been extraordinary.” And there was a ripple effect: residents of one neighborhood took it upon themselves to become the first Firewise Community in Louisville.
The town of Superior
Alongside the rebuild and adoption of new ordinances for wildfire resilience, Superior is also acting on the panel’s recommendations to expand affordable housing during recovery. The town is currently partnering with a real estate developer to build an affordable housing project for seniors that will prioritize community members affected by the Marshall Fire.
The town’s focus on taking care of people during the long recovery process goes far beyond the built environment. Superior’s Disaster Preparedness and Recovery department used the ULI implementation grant to advance panel recommendations and fill a growing need to support fire survivors’ mental health and well-being with a pilot nature and forest therapy program that leverages the community’s beautiful environment.
Allison James, disaster preparedness and recovery manager for Superior, says, “As case management and personal wellness services for families come to an end from larger entities, the responsibility to support our residents does not. It is essential for municipalities to step in and ensure that long-term recovery resources remain accessible. Through initiatives like nature and forest therapy programs, communities can provide sustainable, trauma-informed support that fosters healing, resilience, and reconnection with the land. True recovery goes beyond rebuilding—it means ensuring that all residents, especially [ones] most affected, continue to receive the care and support they need to thrive.”
The program, which was inspired by the traditional Japanese practice of forest therapy, aligns with research showing that regular exposure to fire-damaged landscapes is linked to worsened mental health outcomes, whereas social support and effective coping strategies were associated with better mental health.
As one participant observes, “Our family lost our home in the Marshall Fire and has faced a stressful rebuilding process. Participating in a nature therapy session was the most therapeutic experience I’ve had since the disaster.”
To date, staff members have facilitated eight forest therapy walks, engaging 41 Superior staff members and fire survivor community recovery leaders. The community plans to expand the program to serve 240 community members in the coming year and, thereafter, as many as possible.
By investing in such practices as nature and forest therapy, Superior is not only addressing current recovery needs but also building a foundation for long-term recovery, resilience, mental health support, and sustainable community well-being.
The program is also serving as a model for other places affected by fire and other disasters. Town of Superior staff members continue to pay it forward through participation in ULI’s efforts to support the wildfire recovery process in Los Angeles, which includes a solutions-driven roadmap to accelerate wildfire recovery and strengthen long-term resilience for communities.
Additional Resources:
- Visit ULI’s wildfire resilience webpage, which hosts a variety of wildfire resilience resources.
- Visit the Resilient Land Use Cohort webpage to learn more about RLUC and see the final reports and recommendations for community resilience.
- Attend the Resilience Summit on May 15th in Denver, CO for further insights on Colorado’s Marshall Fire recovery and wildfire resilience efforts.
